First Mortgage Default Rate Falls in January

Consumer credit default rates improved at the start of 2013, with noteworthy progress for first mortgage defaults, according to the S&P/ ""Experian"":http://www.experian.com/ Consumer Credit Default Indices.

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The default rate for first mortgages dropped to 1.58 percent, down from 1.68 percent in December 2012 and 2.08 percent in January 2012.

The second mortgage default rate was unchanged from December at 0.69 percent, but down sharply from 1.30 percent in January 2012.

""The national composite rate was 1.63% in January 2013, nine basis points below the December 2012 rate. It was primarily driven by the first mortgage rate, which was at 1.58% in January, ten basis points below the previous month,"" said David M. Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the index committee at ""S&P"":http://www.spdji.com.

In January 2012, the national composite rate was 2.16 percent.

The composite also measures consumer credit default for bank cards and auto loans. Out of five large metros measured by the composite, Dallas led with the lowest overall default rate of 1.19 percent. Miami struggled with its default rate of 3.45 percent, an increase from 3.07 percent in December.

Compared to January 2012, all five cities--New York, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Miami--have a lower default rate.